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Chelsea chief Granovskaia talks ‘tough decisions’ (VIDEO)

Roman Abramovich’s chief negotiator at Chelsea, Marina Granovskaia, has spoken of a “difficult year” after being named the Best Club Director in European football.

The Russian-Canadian was handed the prestigious gong at the Golden Boy awards in Turin, where Barcelona midfielder Pedri won the top prize and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski was named Golden Player.

Granovskaia was recognized after Chelsea won their second Champions League title by beating Manchester City in Porto in May. The famously savvy businesswoman has been credited with overseeing the signings of stars such as $95 million Germany midfielder Kai Havertz, who scored the only goal in the final, as well as having a hand in the astute appointment of manager Thomas Tuchel the previous January following the sacking of club legend Frank Lampard.

On the podium collecting her trophy, though, she dedicated the win to everyone at Stamford Bridge in tough times amid the pandemic.

“It was a season we will not forget in a hurry,” Granovskaia said of a campaign in which Chelsea played behind closed doors for months as a result of the pandemic, even opening the doors of their Stamford Bridge home to UK National Health Service staff under the guidance of billionaire Russian chairman Abramovich.

“It was a difficult year with some tough decisions we had to make, but we won the Champions League for the second time, then the Super Cup – and the Women’s team were very successful too, also getting to the Champions League final, winning the Super League and the FA Cup. We are very pleased with how the year went.”

Granovskaia alluded to her strong partnership with Abramovich and the significant changes made to Chelsea’s squad and coaching staff.

“It is a team sport and, in the boardroom, it is just as much of a team sport as on the pitch,” she explained.

“None of this success would be possible without the right players, the right coaches, but also the right support staff, both at the stadium and at the training ground, and the environment they create for success.

“All of this was achieved under difficult circumstances for both the club and our supporters during the pandemic. A great season but we are, of course, already looking towards the next challenges.”

After Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-0 at Wembley to win the Women’s FA Cup earlier this month, boss Emma Hayes revealed the keen interest Granovskaia and her boss show in the team.

“She said it was the best she has ever seen us play,” Hayes said after the victory at Wembley Stadium.

“She can see the team improving and Roman Abramovich has sent his congratulations. I know he is an avid fan and I know he really enjoyed the performance.”

Abramovich, who made a long-awaited return to the UK last month, has hosted the women’s team on a trip they made to Israel, where he has dual nationality.

Granovskaia is said to have told awards organizers Tuttosport that there “isn’t a secret to Chelsea’s successes”. 

“Or at least, I don’t know it,” she admitted. “Otherwise, it would be easier to win year by year.

“But I know that there is daily teamwork and communication behind every success. Chelsea are a great team on and off the pitch.”

Agent Federico Pastorello, who guided Romelu Lukaku’s $129.5 million move from Inter Milan to Chelsea at the end of last season, told the outlet that Granovskaia “deserves the best”.

“She is very serious – she never bluffs,” he added, predicting that the feared Belgium striker will one day return to Italian top flight Serie A.

German website Transfermarkt reported that Granovskaia has played a key role in player sales worth $1.13 billion since 2011, giving Chelsea a transfer income that is only slightly behind established selling clubs Atletico Madrid and Benfica.

Currently third in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Manchester City, Chelsea are fighting for their first English top flight win in four years.

Tuchel’s side have advanced to the knockout phase in their Champions League title defense, which will continue with a Round of 16 tie against French club Lille in February.

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‘Craziest shot ever’: NBA hero stuns world with miraculous last-second 61ft winner (VIDEO)

A colossally sharp-shooting basketball star has been hailed for a “ridiculous” effort that decided a game with little more than a second to go – and some have called the extraordinarily dramatic finish to the contest “impossible”.

With 1.4 seconds left in a razor-tight showdown between hosts Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans, guard Devonte Graham collected possession in a seemingly benign area of the Paycom Center court.

The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just scored to level the game at 110 apiece, leaving any sensible fan around the arena readying themselves for overtime as the end of a thrilling tussle neared.

That was when Graham gloriously intervened. Perhaps taking inspiration from Gilgeous-Alexander’s successful 30ft shot seconds earlier, the 26-year-old went considerably better with an outlandish effort from way out to give the Pelicans victory in sensational style.

“Incredible,” roared one commentator as Graham was mobbed by his teammates before racing off court despite the best attempts of astonished fans to congratulate him on his epic last-gasp act. “Get out of here before they review it.”

His co-commentator thundered: “It’s good, it’s good. They can review it all they want to: this is good.”

At 61 feet out, the staggering buzzer-beater is said to be the longest ever final shot in an NBA game in 25 years.

“The most impossible finish to an NBA game you will ever see,” gushed NBA host Rob Perez, spelling out his thoughts entirely in capitals.

“Imagine paying all that money to [watch] your home team lose to a shot like that,” added another. “RIP.”

One viewer called the conclusion “literally the craziest basketball sequence I’ve ever seen,” although they qualified that view by saying they “just didn’t feel the emotion” – an understandable state of affairs given that the shot silenced the home crowd and was followed by the players rushing off.

Graham modestly said he was “just playing around” and reportedly pledged to hand the game ball to his mother or grandmother.

“When I was at [college in] Kansas, I used to shoot half-court shots every game, every practice – trick shots and stuff like that,” the instant hero recalled.

“You never know, you might get into that situation one day, just like today. And it ends up paying out for you.”

ESPN Stats and Info said that the game was the first in 25 season to contain more than one shot from at least 30 feet away to tie or decide the game within the final five seconds of action.

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‘Only one answer’ on booster vaccines, insists Liverpool boss Klopp (VIDEO)

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed how his squad has reacted to being offered booster jabs, adding that there are “no two possible answers” for people who are offered the chance to take another vaccine dose.

The UK is currently battling the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with a record 78,610 new cases recorded on Wednesday. 

In a bid to stem a ‘tidal wave’ of the disease, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to give a million booster shots to the public on top of the two Covid vaccine jabs they have already been offered.

With plan B already affecting football – fans must now show ‘vaccine passports’ to attend matches – Liverpool coach Klopp was probed for his thoughts on boosters and also revealed that potential new signings will not be discarded based on whether they have had their jabs or not, offering a less emphatic view than Reds club legend Steven Gerrard, who now manages Aston Villa.

Gerrard said his staff would “look at everything” when they search for new players during the January transfer window, adding that he was “sure” the issue of whether players being vaccinated will arise.

Ahead of Liverpool’s match against Newcastle, though, Klopp admitted on the same topic: “I didn’t think about it, to be honest. I don’t know.”

“Who knows where we will be, in which situation the world will be, when we start signing players again,”  he added. “But it’s not important at the moment.

“The whole thing, the whole vaccination thing, is for me a massive question of solidarity, loyalty and togetherness.

“We all have the chance to help not only ourselves but other people as well by getting vaccinated.”

Some people have been critical and suspicious of the need for a booster. Johnson has ambitiously said he wants everyone to receive another jab by the end of 2021, and the UK National Health Service says a booster dose “helps improve the protection you have from your first 2 doses of the vaccine.”

“It helps give you longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from Covid-19,” it added.

Klopp is unequivocal on the debate. “There are no two possible answers; there is only one answer, so you do it. That’s how I understand it,” he said.

“It’s not only the squad, everyone who is working here at the AXA Training Centre is at least double-vaccinated and will get a booster as soon as possible for him or her.”

This is not the first time that Klopp has been so outspoken on this subject. In October, when he claimed 99 percent of his title-challenging squad were vaccinated, he compared those that hadn’t followed suit to drink-driving.

“We all probably were in a situation where we had a beer or two and thought we still could drive but, [because of] the law, we are not allowed to drive anywhere, so we don’t drive,” the German said.

“But this law is not there for protecting me when I drink two beers and want to drive: it’s for protecting all the other people because I’m drunk or p*ssed and we accept that as a law.”

Three recent Premier League games have been called off due to the spread of Omicron, with a season high of 42 positive tests announced last week.

With five fixtures in 12 days in the packed Christmas and New Year calendar, losing players would be a nightmare for Liverpool and Klopp.

Deep down, though, the 54-year-old might welcome some postponements given his repeated gripes about the heavy scheduling in the past.

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National football coach accused of ‘raping so many boys’

Union bosses have warned that football is rife with grooming, assault and “horrific abuse” after disturbing accusations of repeated rape emerged against a long-serving coach and former Gabon national youth team boss.

Patrick Assoumou Eyi, who is said to be known locally as ‘Capello’, allegedly abused boys while leading Gabon’s under-17 team and serving in his current role as the country’s top-flight technical director. 

He is accused of luring them to his home, which he dubbed the ‘Garden of Eden’. Some victims have reportedly claimed that boys were provided for other leading figures in Gabonese football to abuse. 

The alleged victims say they have not contacted police because they lack faith in the justice system, according to the Guardian.

But Fifa’s international players’ union, Fifpro, has received a complaint and said that its preliminary inquiries unearthed “consistent evidence from credible witnesses” who unanimously say young players have long been forced into sexual relationships as a “pre-condition for footballing opportunities”.

“If these allegations are indeed true, it is yet further evidence that football is being consistently exploited, across leagues and continents, as a forum for abusers to access, groom, extort and assault players,” the union added.

“More must be done to prevent this horrific abuse and we call on football’s governing bodies to act as a matter of urgency.”

Eyi stepped down from working with the under-17s squad in 2017 but the outlet said that he continues to work with young people at the La Ligue de l’Estuaire despite a former official in Gabon’s football federation, Fegafoot, reportedly claiming that he attempted to raise concerns of sexual abuse allegations at a 2019 board meeting which were brushed off.

The official is said to have been fired as a result, though Fegafoot denied that claim to the newspaper.

“He forced me to have sexual relations with him,” one player who represented the under-17s side from 2015 to 2017 was quoted as saying. “That was the condition to stay in the national team.

“At the time, I left my village in order to help my family. I was living in the capital [Libreville] and becoming a professional footballer was the only way to get out of misery. So I did what I had to do to help them.”

“Capello raped so many boys,” the player was quoted as alleging. “He sometimes went to the countryside to find new ones.

“He took advantage of poverty and also gave some boys to other officials. In our national team, the majority had to give sex.

“That’s the reality of Gabonese football for decades but no-one can shut down the system. Predators are too numerous… we suffered hell.”

Two other alleged victims say Eyi abused them when they were under 18 while they attended an academy in a Libreville suburb between 2017 and 2019.

“Sometimes, he took some kids to his house, ‘Le Jardin d’Eden’,” one is said to have explained. “He was very nice to me but every time I saw him he told me I was beautiful.

“One day, he told me that some of the players gave masturbation… he left his office with a smile. It was like he was sending me a message.”

“I had some sexual experiences with Capello, I was obligated to,” the other player is quoted as saying.

“I quit football, you know. I tried my best for my family and now I live out of the country. I can’t go back.

“Capello bought kids from remote provinces or villages with a poor background in the majority.

“He brainwashed them and made them believe they had to give sexual favours to him. One other coach told us one day: ‘If you want to play with the under-17 national team, you know what you have to do.’”

Eyi, who was a winger but went into coaching at a young age with a noted eye for spotting footballing talent, is said to have posted a series of messages on his WhatsApp statuses where he seemed to make reference to the allegations and wrote: “Those who use lies as a weapon don’t know the reverse on the spiritual side.”

Fegafoot’s media officer, Pablo Moussodji Ngoma, was quoted by the Guardian to have referenced the allegations on Facebook, criticizing them for a “weakness of evidence”.

“The testimonies of the actor victims, with their names, can dissuade the perpetrators of these abominable acts but we must also allow the judicial bodies and even the courts to punish them,” he reportedly wrote.

“The rest will be taken as one more communication operation for those who are committed to tarnishing Gabon’s image internationally.”

In a reported statement, Fegafoot said it had “never registered any complaints relating to any act of this nature”.

“To our knowledge, [Eyi] does not have a team and is not appointed to lead any national team,” it is said to have added.

“The players you have met should consider also contacting us in order to diligently investigate because we confirm that such facts must be denounced in court and to the competent judicial bodies.”

This scandal is just the latest to rock Gabonese football, which in November saw ex-Rennes star Stephane Nguema and four fellow ex-internationals arrested for protesting against continued cancelations of the domestic leagues.

As a consequence, Nguema has had to leave his role as the players’ union secretary-general, with members claiming they haven’t been paid in almost two years.

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Biden sends surprise vaccine message to NFL superstar

US president Joe Biden has used a trip to a tornado-ravaged area to wade into the controversy over Aaron Rodgers’ Covid status, advising the NFL player who attempted to avoid a vaccine row with the “woke mob”.

President Biden was paying a visit to the Midwest, where at least 100 people have been killed by winds of up to 100mph in five states this week, when he made his surprising remark about vaccines.

Surveying scenes where the freak conditions had torn off roofs, toppled trees, overturned vehicles and caused power outages in Mayfield, Kentucky, the head of state stopped to talk to two women.

When he was that one of the women was donning a Green Bay Packers cap and shirt – the team Rodgers plays for – Biden warned: “Tell that quarterback he’s gotta get the vaccine” while the cameras were rolling.

Video footage of the incident showed the two women laughed in response. And while Rodgers is yet to address this latest episode in the saga, he may well do if he appears again on the Pat McAfee Show, which has provided the stage for the controversy. 

In early November, Rodgers appeared on the popular program to address accusations that he had lied about having the vaccine because he claimed he was “immunized” and went on to contract Covid.

“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now, so before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I’d like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself right now,” he told the show.

“I didn’t lie in the initial press conference. During that time there was a very…  a ‘witch hunt’ that was going on across the league where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn’t, and what that meant and who was being selfish and who would talk about it.

“[It was about] what they meant when they said it was a ‘personal decision’, [and that] they shouldn’t have to disclose their own medical information… and at the time, my plan was to say that I had been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie – it was the truth,” he clarified.

Days later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki publicly criticized Rodgers for spreading “misinformation”.

“I’m not an anti-vaxx flat-earther,” the 38-year-old insisted, saying he had consulted popular UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan over alternative treatments.

“I have an allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long-term immunization protocol to protect myself and I’m very proud of the research that went into that.”

As Rodgers faced widespread backlash and lost sponsors, those close to him told People that he was “very unhappy with the response”.

Rodgers returned to the program and apologized, acknowledging that he is “a role model to a lot of people”.

“I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility,” he accepted.

Many of the Biden administration’s rules and regulations aimed at increasing vaccination in the US have been held up or quashed by courts recently.

Republican state attorneys general, businesses and religious groups have claimed that the administration has gone beyond its authority in a country where Covid is thought to have killed around 800,000 people.

Biden’s legislation moves have included an executive order in September requiring federal contracts to include clauses mandating contractors to make employees take jabs.

An order in the same month effectively required almost 97 percent of federal employees to get vaccinated by mid-November.

Rodgers missed a defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9 due to Covid but has since helped the Packers to a 10-3 record with four games of the regular season remaining.

On Sunday, he provided four touchdowns and 341 passing yards in an outstanding performance as part of 45-30 win over the Chicago Bears, and he is set to feature against the Baltimore Ravens on the road next time out.